Grain-binder



(Nolvrodql.) 'z sheets-sheet 1.

J. H. MGCUTCHEON.

GRAIN BINDER.

110.371,341. 'Patented 001. 11,1887.

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(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. H. MGCUTCHBON.

GRAIN BINDER.

110.371,341. Patented 001;. 11, 1887.

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Jf i i N ERS, Phom-Lilhognphnr. wzsnmgmn, n. c.

7 Sheets-Sheet 8.

(No Model.)

J. H. MGCUTCHBON.

GRAIN BINDER.

No. 371,341. Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

FIGL4.

Nv PETERS. PImm-Lilhngmplwr, wnsmnlou. D. c.

7 Sheets-Sheet 4.

'(No Model.)

J. H. MCCUTGHEON.

GRAIN BINDER.

Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

fc//o Ffa .9.

7 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

J. 1-1. MGGUTCHEON.

GRAIN BINDER.

No. 371,341. Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

7 Sheets-Sheet 6.

TCHBON.

INDER. y

Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

(No Model.) e 7 Sheets- Sheet 7.

' J. H. MoCUTCI-IEON.

GRAIN BINDER. No. 371,341. Patented Oct. l1, 1887.

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llivrrnn STATES Farnivr Oriana..

JOHN H. MGOUTOHEON, OF CAMERON, MISSOURI, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-HALF TO VILLIAM S. KIRK, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

GRAIN-BINDER.

SPECIFICATION farming part of Letters Patent No. 371,341, dated October 11, 1887.'

Serial No. 130,359. (No model.)

To alZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. MoCUToHEoN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Cameron, Clinton county, Missouri, have invented certain Improvements in Grain-Binders, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to so construct grain-binding mechanism for harvesters that the mechanism will be compact, the actions direct, and the greater part of the machinery above the table on which the bundle is formed, so that said table can be placed close to the ground; and this object I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1, Sheet l, is a perspective view from the rear Corner, showing my improved grainbinding mechanism applied to the table and apron of a harvester; Fig. 2, Sheet 2, a plan view, on a larger scale, ot' the parts to which my invention relates; Fig. 3, an end view looking in the direction ot' the arrow 1, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, Sheet 3, an end view looking in the direction ot' the arrow 2, Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a detached face view, drawn to a still larger scale, of the mechanism for holding, knotting, and cutting the binding-twine; Fig. 6, a view lookving in the same direction, but with some of the parts shown in Fig. 5 removed; Fig. 7, a sectional plan on the line I 2, Fig. 6; Fig. 8, a transverse section on the line 3 4, Fig. 5; Fig. 9, Sheet 4, an end view of the knotting mechanism on the same scale as Fig. 5; Fig. 10, a transverse section on the line 5 6, Fig. 5, Fig. 11, detached perspective views of the gearing` shown in Fig. 10; Fig. 12, a detached view showing the devices for throwing the twine in the path of the knetter; Fig. 13, detached perspective views of the twine-holding wheels; Fig. 14,aperspective view ofthe twinecutting knife and the lever for operating'the twine-holding wheels; Figs. 15 and 16, Sheet 5, perspective views of gear-wheels connected with the devices for forming the grain-bundle; Figs. 17 to 20, perspective views of devices for retaining the grain until the bundle is formed and tied, Figs. 21, 22, and 23,viewsof thetwineknotting device; Figs. 2l to 27, Sheet G, diagrams illustrating the operation of the devices for compressing and binding the grain-bundle; Figs. 2S to 30, Sheet 7, diagrams illustrating which receives the grain, and by which it is 6c presented to the said bundling and tying mechanism,a shaft, B', being driven by bevelgearing I3'l from the axle B, and this shaft havinga chain-wheel, I3, the chain I3* from which passes round a chain-wheel, D', on the driving-clutch sleeve D, which actuates the bundling and tying mechanism, said sleeve being loosely hung on the packer-shaft F.

For convenience of description,and with the View of most readily imparting an understanding of my invention, I have divided the same into live parts, as follows: First, the gearing whereby the bundling, binding, and tying devices are driven from the driving-sleeve D; second, the devices for forming the bundle; third, the devices for binding the bundle; fourth, the devices for tying the knot in the binding-twine, and, fifth, the mechanism for retaining the bundle during the binding operation, and delivering it when bound.

I will first describe the second feature of the invention-namely, the devices for forming the bundle.

Reference should be had to Figs. 1, 2, and 4. The stalks of grain, as they are fed onto the table A, are brought under the action of the packer-fingers a, forming the long arms of levers b, which are pivoted to the face ofa disk, F, carried by a packer-shaft, F, the latter being adapted to bearings in standards O on the table A, and being driven from the sleeve D (through which it passes) by means ofeluteh mechanism, as described hereinafter. The packer-fingers a project beyond the periphery of the disk F', four levers b being shown in 9g the present instance, and the short arm a of each lever being connected to the long arm or finger e of the lever in advance by means of a link, a2, so that a movement of any one of the levers 1s transmitted to the others. On oneot" the standards C is a pin, d,which, as the disk F rotates in the direction of the arrow, Fig.

4, comes into the path of the packer-lingers a, as shown in that figure, and causes the lever, of which the finger forms part, to turn upon its pivot, this movement being transmitted'to the following lever, so as to cause the finger c of the latter to sweep down upon and move forward thegrain lyingnpon thetable A. During this movement, and as'long as thepackerfinger a of the lever in advance is under the control of the pin d, the acting finger is locked in position and prevented from swinging backings on the standards() and receiving its movelmentfrom thesleeve D,`und^er control of the bundling mechanism; `hence I will now describe Awhat Ihavev in the summary mentioned as the first vfeature of ythe invention-namely, `vthe gearing whcrebythisA s haftjG is driven vfrom ,the Sleeve D- 'Ihe sleeve D can `turn freely on the shaft .,F, andforming part ofthe chain-,wheel D' on the end of said sleeve D is one-half,e, of a clutch,

the projections and recesses of which are adapted to ,the recesses and projections of a clutch-sleeve, vle', ,free to slide onthe shaft F, buthaving avspli'ne-for entering a groove in 'the shaft, sothat' the latter `must turn with the sleeve e. A portion of v'this sleeve e' is embraced `by theend of a guided bar, g, which has fingers g'andgi, and is actednpon bya spring, g3, `the tendency of which is to maintain the sleeve e'in engagementwith the clutch-,half e of the sleeve D, the projections and recesses of the two parts of the clutchbeing beveled, however, andthe projections of ,the sleeve ebeiug furnished `with anti-friction rollers, (as shown in Fig. 2,) so that as soon as there is a certain amount of resistance to the rotation ofthe shaft F-fthat is to say, assoon as the bundle of grain on the table A has accumulated `tothe desired extent and interferes with the forward movementof the fingers alt-the power of the spring g3 willilje overcome and the sleeve e will be forcedoutof engagementwith the sleeve gD. Secured to the opposite end of the sleeve D is a pinion,h, on the back of which are two fingers, h, and to theshaftG is secured a spur-wheel,

H, havingseveral of itsiteeth Jcut away, so as to' `form a space, c, the frontof this wheel having a iiange, Hi, With a notch, @Tand the back of the wheel beingfurnished with a lug, ci, and a projection having inclinescand c4. (See Figs-'2, 3, 15and 1.60

-During theaccumulationef ,the'bundle of ,grainthe partsocupy the relatie ShQwn in Figs- 2,.and Srthe teethofthe pinion h Work,

ingin thespace c of the wheel H, whichfis locked 4to the retaining device.

in vposition by the engagement with the notch c' in the flange of an anti-friction roller on the arm g of the bar g. As soon, however, as the clutch-sleeve e is moved out of engagement with the sleeve D, this roller is removed from the notch and a rollerl on the finger g2 acts upon the inclined projection c of the wheel H, so as to move the latter'slightly forward and bring its lug c2 into the path of one of' the iingers h of the pinion h, whereby the wheel is moved forward still farther and is thrown into gear with said pinion, which imparts to the wheel one revolution-that is to say, it turns the same until the space cis again brought into line with the pinion l1 and the notch c into line with the roller on the finger g', so as to permit lthe movement of the har g, under control of the springgz, and the engagement of the clutchsleeve e with the sleeve D, so as to again rotate the shaft F. In order to insure this movement ofthe bargand the locking of the wheel H after it'hus made one revolution, the action of the spring gi is supplemented by the action of the inclined projection c4 upon the roller. It will thus be seen that the operation of the shaft G is dependent upon the accumulation of sufficient grain to form the desired bundle, whereupon the shaft F is thrown out of gear until the bundle has been bound and discharged, the' said shaft F being then again IOO the belt A. continued its movement durin r the istoppage ofthe shaft F.

I will next describe the third feature of my invention, the devices for binding the bundle. These are shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13,14, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 80.

Beneath the table A is a shaft,J, which has at one end a crank, J', connected by arod, J2, to a crank-pin, J, on the wheel H, as shown in Fig. 3, so that Aon each revolution ofthe said wheel a rocking movement will be imparted to the shaft J, the opposite end of which carries the binding-needle K. This rneedle works through a slotin the table A, be-

neath which is the twine-spool K', the twine 0c passing'froln the latter, first through a fixed eye, y, on a boss, K?, belw the table, then through an eye, y', cna sliding plate, L, then through another eye, yf on the boss K", then through the eyes y* y ofthe needle,and thence This device consists of a pair of bevel-wheels, MM', thespindles of which are adapted to suitable bearingsin the standard C, the y wheel M having projections i, which are acted upon by a pawl, i', hung to the end of one arm cfa lever, N, as shown in Fig. 6, and-acted upon by Aa spring,

i, the tendency of which is to depress the free end of the pawl and keep it in engagement with the wheel M,the end of the pawl slipping over the teeth of the wheel, however, on the backward movement of the lever. The lever N is pivoted to a standard C, at the point shown by the dotted circle in Fig. 6,and is under control of a scroll-cam, il', on the shaft G, so that on each rotation of the latter shaft there will be a vibration of the lever,the pawl t" acting upon the wheel M and turning the same forward to the extent of one tooth, a retaining-pawl, i, preventing back movement of the wheel. The sliding plate L has a slot, 7c, for the reception of the shaft J, and on the front end of the plate is a lug, 7s', which serves to engage with and retain one of the armsf, against which the grain is forced by the fingers a of the disk E during the bundling op eration, the rearvend of the plate L having a pin, 7a2, with anti -friction roller adapted to a curved slot, 7a, in the boss K2. (Sec Fig. 4.) The shaft J has an arm, J4, with pin J, pro vided with an anti-friction roller, and on the under side ofthe plateL is a projection, la", on which this roller acts,asdcscribed hereinafter.

l During the bundling of the grain the shaft J remains stationary; but the arm fswings forward from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 24, the plate L following this 1novement,and the lug kbeing kept in engagement with the end of the arm f by reason of the depression of the rear end of the plate,ow ing to its being under control of the curved slot k3, the shaft J serving as the fulcrum on which the plate swings. In the absence ot' this provision the end ofthe arnif would be freed from the control of thelng 7;', owing to the fact that said end moves in the arc ot' a circle of which the shaft I is the center. By this movement of the plate L the twine guiding eye y' is caused to approach the eyes yand y, and sufficient slack twine is thus produced to pass around the front of the bundle. Vhen the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 24, the proper amount ot' grain has been accumulated, the packer-shaft F is thrown out of gear, and the movement ofthe shaft G com mene-es. This causes a rocking ofthe shaft J,and the needle K swings upward, so as to compress the rear of the bundle and carry the binding-twine around the same. At thesame time the roller on the arm JL of the shaft J acts upon the projection k" ofthe slide L, thrusting the same rearward and cansing an inward movement of the armf, as shown in Fig.'25, so as to compress the front of the bundle, the eye ybeing moved away from the eyes y y?, so as to take up the slack ofthe bind'- ing-twine and canse the latter to closely conne the bundle, thtJ iinal result of the action of the roller of the arm J4 being to support the slide L, so as to prevent the lug tot' the same from releasing the arm f until the binding twine has been caught and the arm K commences to move down. The support is then withdrawn from the slide L, the front end of which drops, so as to depress the lug k and release the arm f, the front end of the slot k having an offset, k, in order to permit this depression. Then the arm J" reaches the limit of its forward movement, it raises the front end ofthe slide, so as to again bring the lug k into position for retaining the arm f. (See Fig. 27.) Owing to the fact that the shaft J derives its rocking motion Vfrom the crankpin J3, there is a dwell in the movement while said pin is passing the center, and before the needle Khal'ter having been fully raised, commences to return` and it is during this time that the operation of the devices i'or retaining the ends of the binding-twine takes place. This operation is shown in Figs. 2S, 29, and 30, on reference to which it will be seen that the upper end of the needle carries the twine :v between two of the teeth, x and mi, of the wheel M, as in Fig. 29, an opening, M2, Fig. 6, being formed in the standard for the entrance of the said upper e'nd of lthe needle. W'hile the twine is in this position the lever N is operated so as to cause the turning of the wheel M to the extent of one tooth, the twine being thereby caught between the tooth a and a tooth of the wheel M and being laid around said tooth v2 on the return movement of the needle, as shown in Fig. 30. 1t should be understood that the front end of the twine is held between the wheel M and the tooth 0c of the wheel M, as the result ot' ra former operation, so that when the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 30 both ends of the twine which contines the bundle will be held, one end between the l'ace of the wheel M and the end of `a tooth, x5, of the wheel M', the other end ot' the twine being held between the tooth a of the wheel M and a tooth, x, of the wheel M. The spindle of the wheel M has at one end a nut, m, between which and the standard Cintervenes a spring, m', Fig. 7, so that the wheel is at liberty to yield to accommodate inequali ties in the thickness ot' the twine or to act upon different grades of twine. The ends of the twine being thus held, t-he next operation is to tie a knot in the twine; hence l new describe the fourth feature of my inventionthe devices for tyingthe knot in the bindingtwine. For an understand ing of these, reference should be had to Figs. 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23, and diagrams, Figs. 3l to 35.

The 'knotter consists 0f a pair of clampingjaws, p and t, the jaw p forming part of a hooked shank, P, Fig. 2l,which is slotted for the reception of a lever, T, of which the other jaw', t, forms one arm, this lever being pivoted to the shank. and the other arm, t, of the lever having a roller which is under the iniiuence of a camplate, t2, and springs t* and t5 on the standard C. W'hen the knotter commences to swing, Vthe roller on the arm t' of the lever T is acted upon by the spring t4, Fig. 9,v which keeps the jaws closed until the roller at the end of the arm comes under control of the camplate t2, the roller traveling on the outer side of this plate, which is so shaped as to throw the end of the arnrt outward, and thus open IOO ' 4 i v 371,341 y l,

"the jaw tof the knotter.

shank P is secu rcd to a horizontal shaft, S, to

which a rocking motionv is imparted bythe .gearing shown in Figs, 5, V10, and ll. On the Vshaft S are two spur-wheels, Saud Si, and on the shaft G are two toothed segments, G and G, the segment G being adapted togcarinto the spur-'wheel S', and the segment G gearing into a pinion, 1', on the shaft I, on which are also two toothed segments, l, which. are adapted to gear into the spur'wheel S`l ot" the shalt S. The segments'are suoli that on each revolution ofthe shaft G there will'be a halt'- revolution of the shaft I, due to the engage ment of the segment G2 with the pinion L', a

' partial revolution of the shaft'S in one direc tion, due to the eugagementofthe segment G with the wheel S', and a partial revolution of said shaft Kin the opposite direction, due to the engagement of one or other of the segments I2 with the' wheel S2. The binding-needle K works in a slt, K, in the standard C, said slot being inclined at the front end, which is adjacent to the knotter, as shown iu Fig, 12. Into the slot KG projects the end of a tucker V,which is pivoted to the standard at V, and hasv a finger,V2, against which bears a spring, V3. The point of the tucker V is in the path of the bindingneedle, and as the latter moves forward it strikes the tucker, the point of which catches the twine and carries the same along in advance ofthe needle, so as to direct yit through t-heinclined end ofthe slot K, andto within reach of the k nottcr, so as to insure the laying ofthe twine at an angle across the path of thejaws p t, and thus insure the catching of the said twine as the k notter rotates, as described hereinafter. The front edge'of the tucker V travels at a much faster rate than t-he needle, owing to the fact that the rear edge of the plate on which the needle acts is camshaped, as shown.

The action of the knotter is illustrated in Figs. 3l to 35. Vhen the binding-needle has finished its work, the two ends of the twine are laid over the shank `of the knotter, as shown in Fig. 31, the portions ot' thctwinc between the knotter and the bundle being carried laterally intothe path of thejawsp towing to theaction of the tuckerVand the inclined end of the slot K, as above stated. A partial rotation in t-he direction of the arrow, Fig. 3l, is now imparted to the knotter, so that the jaws will catch the twine and form a loop, x5, on the shank, the jawsp t opening during the latter part of the movement, so that the vends of the twine enter the jaws, as shown in Fig. `32. As the knotter reaches the end of its,movement in this direction, the arm t of the jaw t passes from under the control of the cam-plate t2, and the jaws close as the knotter commences to move backward. As this movement continues, the loop x3 slips off the jaws and a second loop, m", is drawn through the rst loop, as shown in Fig. 33, and as the ends of the twine are drawn tight a knife, N3, forming part of the lever N, severs the twine, as'shown in Fig. 34, and as the knotter continues to move, the loose ends of the loop m are drawn through the loop w3 and around the pin t3, so as to form the close knot shown in Fig. 35.

The remaining feature ot' my invention is the device for retaining and delivering the bundle.

I have already described how the bundle is formed against. the arm f, how the latter gradually yields during this formation, is then drawn inward by the plate L, and finally rcleased from the control of the plate.A After theformation of the knot in the binding-twine the segment G2 acts upon the pinion I of the shaft I, so as toturn said shafthalf-way around, the lower arm f being thus moved ont of the way ot' the bound bundle, and the upper arm fstriking the latter and delivering it from the side of the table A onto the ground, the arm f being then caught by the lug lr' ofthe plate L and held in position during the formation ofa fresh'l'iundle. A device supplementary to the arms f is used tov assist in the duty of retaining and delivering the bundle. this device consist- ICO ingot' a pair of levers', W, hung to a double crank, W', on the end ofthe shaft I, as shown in Fig. 5, and passing through beveled openings VVa, Fig. 8, in a block, NV, pivoted to the standard C. By this arrangement, on each half-turn of the shaft I, the lower arm of one of the levers XV is raised from the front of the bundle and then carried rearwardV over the top ot' the same, while the lower arm of the other. lever is caused to descend behind the bundle and .then moved forward, so as to aid in thrusting the bundle from the table, being left in such a position that it will aid the arm f in effecting the retention of the grain fed forward on the table A by the packer-ngers to form another bundle.

Having thus described in detail the various parts of the apparatus, it will suffice to give a brief description of the general operation.

The grain is fed onto the tableA by the belt A', and is fed forward by the fingers a of the disk F against the retaining-arm j', which gradually yields, drawing forward the plate L, and causing the eye y to approach the eyes y y, so as to form sufficient slack twine to embrace thefront of the bundle.

movement of the packer-shaft F and feed-belt A is arrested and the shaft G thrown into *gear and given one revolution. The first effeet of this is to bring' forward the bindingneedle K, the operation of which effects the retraction' of the arm f, so as to compress the bundle, the plate L also being retracted, so

yThe proper l amount of grain having been accumulated, the

that the eye y' is moved away from the eyes y y? and takes up the slack in the twine formed by this compression of the bundle. The needle having reached its highest point,the twine is caught and held by the wheels M M and the needle retracted. rlhe knetter P then forms the knot in the twine, and the bound bundle is delivered from the table by the aetion of the arm f and lever XV.

It will be observed that the greater portion of the mechanism is above the table A in my improved machine, so that the table can be placed close to the ground, this being adesirable feature. The grain, moreover, is not elevated for the action of the binding devices, but has a free passage over the horizontal table to the point of discharge.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination of the table, the packershaft having a disk, means for rotating said packer-shaft, levers hung to the disk and connected together, and a pin for acting on the levers successively as the disk rotates, all substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the driving-sleeve having a pinion, awith a finger, 7i,the packershaft, aclutch-sleeve splined thereto, a bindershaft having a spur-wheel, H, with space c, lug c2, and inclined projection c3, and the bar g, connected to the clutchsleeve and having a finger adapted to act upon the projection ci, all substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the driving-sleeve having apinion, 7L, with a fingerJi", the packershaft, a clutch-sleevesplined thereto,a bindershaft having a spur wheel, H, with notched flange H, space c, ing c2, and inclined proj eetions c3 ci, and the bar g, connected to the clutch-sleeve and having fingers g g2, all substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the vibrating binding-needle, the pivoted retaining-armf, and the catch-plate L, free to slide with the arm, as set forth.

5. The combination of' the binding-needle, the pivoted retaining-arm f, the sliding catchplate, and means for depressing the rear end of the latter as it slides, as specified.

6. The combination of the binding-needle, the retaining-armf, the sliding catch-plate,its twine-guiding eye y,and fixed eyes y y2, forming an automatic let-off and take-np for the twine, as set forth.

7. The combination of the bindingneedle, the retaining-arm f, the catch-plate having a projection, if, and the arm j* on the shaft of the bindingheedle, asdescribed.

8. The combination of the bindingneedle and its shaft J,having an arm, J4, the retaining-arm f, and the sliding plate L, having a projection, 7n, and a slot, L, with enlargement R5, as set forth.

9. The combination of the vibrating binding-needle with a cord-holder consisting of' a pair of bevel-wheels, M M', mounted independently of the binding-needle and rotating in a plane transverse to the plane of vibration of said needle, said wheel M having a tooth projecting beyond its periphery, and means for moving the wheel M when the needle is up, whereby, on the descent ofthe needle,the cord will be wrapped around a projecting tooth of' thewheel and drawn off transversely there' from, all substantially as specified.

10. The combination of the wheel M', the Wheel M,having lugs i, the lever N, having a pawl, t', and a cam for vibrating the lever, all substantially as specified.

ll. The within-described knetter, consist ing of a hooked shank with fixed jaw and lever, gearing for partially rotating the shank first in one direction and then in the other, a spring for acting on the lever to keep thejaws closed during the first part of' the forward movement, a cam-plate for opening the jaws during the latter part of said movement, and

a second spring, whereby the lever-arm is depressed to again close the jaws during the reverse movement, all substantially as specified. 12. The combination of the shaft G, having toothed segments G' and G2, the shaft S, carrying the knetter and having spur-wheels S and S2, and the shaft Lhaving aspur-wheel, I', and segments I2, as set forth.

13. The combination of the shaft I and its arms f with the lever,W,double crank W,and

f pivoted block XV, as specified.

In ltestimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

' JOHN H. McoU'roHnoN.

Vvitnesses:

HARRY SMITH, HENRY HowsoN, Jr. 

